Zamalek will go head-to-head with Kaizer Chiefs in their final CAF Confederation Cup Group D fixture, which is scheduled to be played at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia, Egypt, on Saturday.
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Kick-off is at 6:00 pm CAT.
CURRENT FORM
The White Knights' hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals took a knock when they lost 1-0 to ZESCO United in Zambia last weekend, but they claimed a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Smouha in a midweek Egyptian Premier League clash.
Zamalek are occupying the second spot in the Group D standings - two points behind leaders, Chiefs. A victory for Zamalek over Chiefs would clinch the Egyptian giants' place in the quarterfinals as group winners, but even a draw might suffice, provided Al Masry drop points in their match against ZESCO United.
Chiefs, on the other hand, put themselves in a great position to progress to the next round when they claimed a 2-1 victory over Al Masry last weekend and they were bouncing back to winning ways after they lost 2-1 to Stellenbosch FC in the Nedbank Cup.
Amakhosi are three points clear of third-placed Al Masry, who are still harbouring ambitions of advancing to the knockout phase. A draw would be sufficient for Chiefs to secure their place in the quarterfinals and they could still advance even with a loss, provided Al Masry fail to beat ZESCO United.
Furthermore, both Zamalek and Chiefs will secure progression if Al Masry fail to beat ZESCO.
TEAM NEWS
Zamalek have welcomed back eight players who missed the ZESCO match, namely, Ahmed Fatouh, Abdallah El Said, Chico Banza, Seifeddine Jaziri, Omar Gaber, Mahmoud Bentayg, Juan Bezerra and Mohamed Sobhi.
Meanwhile, Chiefs will be without the services of the suspended Aden McCarthy, while Inacio Miguel has been added to the Amakhosi's injury list, which includes Rushwin Dortley, Thabo Cele, Bradley Cross, Reeve Frosler and Sibongiseni Mthethwa, but Nkanyiso Shinga is now available for selection.
WHAT WAS SAID?
Zamalek coach Moatamed Gamal
“Zamalek’s chances of qualifying are still alive, and we are striving to secure a victory against Kaizer Chiefs in the next match in order to take the lead in the group," Gamal said.
"I did not focus on the result of the other match between Kaizer Chiefs and Al Masry. My focus was only on today’s match, and we aimed to achieve victory.
"Our goal is also to achieve victory in the upcoming Kaizer Chiefs match in the last round of the group stage of the tournament.”
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Lebohang Maboe
“These are the type of games I came here to play. When you sign for a big team, you want to be in hostile environments, where the odds are stacked against you,” Maboe said.
“Once you step onto the pitch, the crowd doesn’t matter and what matters is focusing on your job and putting the team through. We’ll need one another, we’ll need to pull in the same direction.
"But we’ve got strong leaders and a strong team. If we work together, I don’t see us not qualifying.”
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This will be the fourth meeting between Zamalek and Kaizer Chiefs since their first encounter in 1993, which was in the CAF Champions League second round.
Each side has one win (Chiefs in the 1993 first leg, Zamalek in the 1993 second leg) and one draw, which was the most recent 1-1 result in their November 2025 CAF Confederation Cup Group D clash.